Image: Bella Hadid / Instagram
Doha, Qatar: Palestinian-American supermodel Bella Hadid on Thursday, October 26, spoke out for the first time about the ongoing Israeli siege on Gaza. Hadid has long expressed support for the 'Free Palestine' advocacy, but has remained quiet until yesterday when she took to Instagram and posted a lengthy statement in support of Palestine.
"Forgive me for my silence," her open letter begins. "I have yet to find the ideal words for this deeply intricate and horrific past 2 weeks, weeks that have turned the world's attention back towards a situation that has been taking innocent lives and affecting families for decades."
Hadid revealed that she had been sent "hundreds of death threats daily, my phone number has been leaked and my family has felt in danger. But I can not be silenced any longer. Fear is not an option. The people and children of Palestine, especially in Gaza, cannot afford our silence. We are not brave - they are.”
She continued by saying that she mourns for all civilians affected by the war, stressing on the "generational trauma of her Palestinian blood". She added: "Harming women and children and inflicting terror does not and should not do any good for the Free Palestine movement. I believe deep in my heart that no child, no people anywhere, should be taken away from their family either temporarily or indefinitely."
The well-known model and brand ambassador concluded her statement urging her 60.5 million followers on Instagram alone to "keep pressure on our leaders, wherever we are, not to forget the urgent needs of the people of Gaza and to ensure that innocent Palestinian civilians are not the forgotten casualties of war."
As of today, October 27, over 7,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestine Health Ministry.
Bella Hadid's father Mohamed Hadid, a real estate mogul based in the United States, was born in Nazareth in 1948. His family was among 750,000 Palestinians displaced that year, "becoming refugees, away from a place they once called home," she wrote.
In October last year, Bella Hadid visited Qatar and graced the 'Labour of Love: Embroidering Palestinian History Exhibition' at Katara.
